There can be no common ground unless all parties are truly safe. The pro-life movement must reject violent acts and violent messaging and the Obama administration must be more proactive in addressing violence against clinic workers.

In "Two men, No Uterus," Will
Saletan and Steve Waldman spent as much time as possible complimenting each other’s work and as
little as possible on real substance. In the end they suggest that "common ground" is a political football game based on a fake play.

What is common ground? Can pro-lifers embrace birth control? Can pro-choicers embrace abortion’s moral complexity? Should we pay women not to have an abortion? Will Saletan, of Slate, and I consider all the complicated questions.

The term "baby-killer" has become the verbal equivalent of that four-letter obscenity angry people blurt out when they can’t think of anything rational to say. It’s the brutal, desperate proclamation of an empty mind and a damaged heart.

Most blogs, especially public policy blogs, seem to spin in place. So, wanting to succeed in genuinely making progress on common ground initiatives, I want to avoid the free market
of ideas model in this venue.